PHIL 1200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Vagueness
19 Jun 2018
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Acceptability
Would the particular audience that is being addressed accept the premise without any further support?
Is the premise a reasonable claim? (Think: universal audience - audience of reasonable people- would
they accept the claim, or require further argument in support of it?)
If answer yes to both, then the premise is acceptable.
To determine the acceptability of a premise: ask yourself:
Are you aware of good evidence against any of the argument’s premises?
Do you lack any evidence to decide whether the premise is acceptable?
Always remember: when you say that an argument has an unacceptable or a questionable premise, you
must argue for your own claim.
Sometimes, we find that the right kind of evidence couldn’t even be provided. So a premise we thought
was questionable turns out to be unacceptable.
Conditions of Acceptability
Not necessarily an exhaustive list, but most acceptable premises will fall under these categories. The
conditions of acceptability provide us with strategies for showing that a premise is acceptable.
Acceptable by definition, or self-evidently acceptable
By definition: the premise is justified by how a word is defined.
Self evident: obviously correct, by virtue of the meaning of the words involved. Anyone who
understands the premise would be justified in believing it.
2. Acceptable as a factual statement reporting an observation or as statement of eyewitness testimony.
In general, there is a presumption in favour of accepting people’s testimony. Unless there is
some reason to think that a person might be lying, or mistaken, we can usually accept their testimony.
Common reasons for doubting testimony: the person has reason to lie, or was not competent,
or wasn’t in position to observe. Or, the claims runs contrary to the ordinary run of experience.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Is the premise a reasonable claim? (think: universal audience - audience of reasonable people- would they accept the claim, or require further argument in support of it?) If answer yes to both, then the premise is acceptable. To determine the acceptability of a premise: ask yourself: Always remember: when you say that an argument has an unacceptable or a questionable premise, you must argue for your own claim. Sometimes, we find that the right kind of evidence couldn"t even be provided. So a premise we thought was questionable turns out to be unacceptable. Not necessarily an exhaustive list, but most acceptable premises will fall under these categories. The conditions of acceptability provide us with strategies for showing that a premise is acceptable. By definition: the premise is justified by how a word is defined. Self evident: obviously correct, by virtue of the meaning of the words involved.
